SCARLATTI / CAVALLI / PAISIELLO / CALDARA / MARCELLO / HANDEL
Quella Fiamma - Arie Antiche Nathalie Stutzmann (contralto/musical direction), Shai Kribus (oboe), Patrick Langot (cello), Marie-Domitille Murez (harp) & Miguel Rincòn (theorbo) [ Erato / Warner Classics / CD - released 15/Nov/2017 ] "One has to admire Parisotti's taste, as well as (not for the first time) Stutzmann's rich, win-dark voice, noble emotional articulation and, when required, flashing virtuosity. Some of these arias are simply ravishing in her hands" Gramophone |
LEOS JANACEK
Janacek: The Cunning Little Vixen (complete opera recorded in 1995) BLU-RAY Théâtre Musical de Paris - Châtelet / Thomas Allen, Eva Jenis, Hannah Minutillo , Ivan Kusnjer / Charles Mackerras (cond) [ Arthaus Legendary Performances BLU-RAY / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Mar/2016 ] This enchanting production by Nicholas Hytner, sung in the original Czech, is conducted by Charles Mackerras, a master of the best Janáček style. Through myriad shifts of scene, the episodic story is presented in brightly coloured sets and costumes... |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
England My England Alastair Hussain (treble) Thomas Bullard (baritone) / Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Cambridge University Musical Society Chorus, etc [ EMI / Warner Classics / 2 CD - released 20/Jul/2009 ] There is surely no more quintessentially English sound than that of the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, its unaccompanied voices - evocative of immemorial sandstone, of cool cloisters, of evensong in church, chapel and cathedral. |
CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI
Monteverdi: L'Orfeo Ensemble Lundabarock; Höör Barock; Ensemble Altapunta Fredrik Malmberg, musical direction / organ [ BIS SACD / 2 CD - released 7/May/2021 ] "The singers' intensity - and the bold, sometimes unusual distribution of instrumental parts - distinguish this Orfeo from earlier recordings. Malmberg's energy that gives this performance a brilliant edge." BBC Music Opera Choice Oct 2021 |
Musical
Highlights from Miss Saigon [ Geffen Records / CD - released 26/Jan/1990 ] |
WOOD / FARNON / WALTON / COATES / VAUGHAN WILLIAMS / GIBBONS / etc
The Three Elizabeths (music from the times of the Three Queens) A musical celebration of Britain through the centuries. Various artists [ Naxos / 2 CD - released 24/Aug/2002 ] a two-disc compilation of Naxos recordings |
WALTON / CLARKE / HANDEL / WOODS / McCORMICK / TRADITIONAL / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Pomp & Circumstance - Sounds of Glory The New Zealand Army Band with the Christchurch Musical Society Choir [ Bianco / CD - released 2/Feb/2000 ] The New Zealand Army Band (Māori: Puoro Puoro Ngāti Tūmatauenga) is a brass band that primarily provides musical support for the New Zealand Army at all state and ceremonial occasions. It was founded in 1964 by Captain James Donald Carson (1935-2008). |
ANTON WEBERN
The Complete Music of Anton Webern Robert Craft (conductor & musical director) with Marni Nixon, Grace-Lynne Martin, Richard Robinson, Charles Scharbach & others [ Sony Classical Masters / 4 CD Box Set - released 10/Dec/2021 ] The most comprehensive collection of Anton Webern. All of the performers, as well as additional instrumentalists and choral singers, were selected from Hollywood film studios. |
HECTOR BERLIOZ
Les Troyens (complete opera recorded in 2003) BLU-RAY Theatre Musical de Paris / Yannis Kokkos, Susan Graham, Gregory Kunde / Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique, Sir John Eliot Gardiner [ Opus Arte / BBC Blu-Ray / 2 Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Aug/2011 ] "The magnificent high-definition recording does it ample sonic and visual justice. For anyone who loves Les Troyens, this is a revelatory and essential performance." (The Gramophone Classical Music Guide) |
HENRY KRIEGER
Dreamgirls In Concert Heather Headley, Audra McDonald, Lillias White, Darius de Haas, Billy Porter / Seth rudetsky (musical dirctor) [ Nonesuch / 2 CD - released 15/Apr/2002 ] In the 20 years since it opened on Broadway, DREAMGIRLS has acquired a mythic reputation few musicals achieve. With a vibrant score by Henry Krieger that captures the Motown sound of the 60's, coupled with a backstage story full of ebullience,... |